UNIFE calls on the European Commission and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) to use new cyber powers to investigate and ban foreign rail technologies.
Photo: EU-Rail
UNIFE is urging the European Commission, ENISA, and relevant authorities to proactively prevent high-risk non-EU suppliers from interfering with European rail networks, given the critical importance of transport for European military mobility and supply chains.
Under the revised Cybersecurity Act, Title IV empowers the European Commission to designate high-risk third countries and ICT suppliers and to bar them from supply chains in critical sectors – including the rail sector.
Embedded technologies within rail systems fall under the definition of transport and transmission networks outlined in these sweeping reforms, as EU Member States continue to invest, or consider investing, in non-EU technologies on rail networks.
ENISA can now work with national authorities on market surveillance exercises to ensure products do not pose threats to European infrastructure, while also identifying new categories of digital products for potential scrutiny.
This ambitious reform, long overdue, demonstrates that the European Commission takes cyber protection in Europe seriously, particularly regarding high-risk third-country actors.
This risk is precisely why UNIFE is calling for future reforms to the Public Procurement Directives to treat the rail sector as strategic, while ensuring that European and Member State funds are invested in projects that benefit European economies and industry.
Commenting on the risks posed by foreign rail technologies, UNIFE’s Director General, Enno Wiebe, emphasised that “with new powers and resources, the European Commission and ENISA as a matter of priority needs to assess and make specific rulings on unsuitable non-EU technology used on EU rail infrastructure. He added that “this may include EU-level alerts and restrictions on high-risk non-EU suppliers producing technology for rail systems, especially considering this is critical infrastructure. Alongside changes to Public Procurement Directives, this will ensure Europe does not lose control of its rail networks.”
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